Penguins Wrap: Win Going Into Break; Naughty & Nice List; Pettersson Update

PHN hopes you and yours are having a wonderful and warm holiday season. The Pittsburgh Penguins, along with the rest of the NHL, took a break over the past week to celebrate or recalibrate or do whatever appealed to them over a few days off. That doesn’t mean there weren’t things to report and discuss, and we were there to unwrap it all.

The Penguins struggled to generate offense in a loss at New Jersey, but went into the break on a better note with a win over their longtime cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers.

Their top line is flying, and winger Rickard Rakell is on a scoring jag worth a longer look.

Just when it seemed the Penguins might enjoy some nearly full health, promising rookie defenseman Owen Pickering joined steady veteran Marcus Pettersson on the shelf.

As you recover from one holiday and prepare to celebrate New Year’s Eve, it’s a great time to catch up on the past week. Click the links.

Saturday: Shots were tough to come by, much less goals, as the Penguins dealt with poor ice conditions following a basketball game in New Jersey. It added up to a shutout loss.

The night in Jersey wasn’t all bad. The Penguins had a strong start. However, in pressing to try to score, they reverted to some bad habits. Check out the Penguins report card.

Sunday: The loss at New Jersey had the Penguins hanging at .500, but not close to down and out. In fact, PHN’s Dan Kingerski asserts that there were lessons to be learned from that game, and that in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins could do some damage.

Monday: Coach Mike Sullivan offered some updates on defensemen Marcus Pettersson and Owen Pickering, and it was a mixed bag. Also, Sullivan talked about his friendship and professional relationship with John Tortorella as the two got ready to face each other the following night. It’s in the Penguins skate report.

It wasn’t a perfect game for the Penguins, especially in the second period when they nearly blew a three-goal lead. But their top line remained hot, with Sidney Crosby hitting yet another milestone, and the score looked lopsided because of a strong third in a win over the Flyers.

The great start, the sloppy second and the defensive structure they regained in the third made the win an interesting study. And how about that top line? Get all the analysis in the Penguins report card.

Tuesday: Penguins winger Rickard Rakell was off all last season, never really getting to his game. This season is so much different. He has rebounded into the goal-scorer that he was known to be. PHN took a look at why he has regained his scoring touch.

Wednesday: Call it a Christmas conundrum. Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas faces big decisions, ones that are made more complicated by the team’s surge into contention for a playoff spot. Get the breakdown in Dave Molinari’s column.

What has coach Mike Sullivan’s relationship with his players been through the rough start and resurgence? Sidney Crosby isn’t slowing. Hey, the Penguins have a fourth line. These topics and more were explored in — what else? — a naughty and nice list.

Thursday: It seemed like a good time to, as we journalists say, empty the notebook. As usual, PHN’s Dave Molinari found some interesting nuggets involving Crosby, attendance and more in this Penguins odds and ends.

The Penguins for years loaded up for the present, for the chase of the Stanley Cup, to the detriment of their player development. That’s changing, as outlined in this exclusive PHN report.

Friday: Pettersson took an important step in his recovery as he practiced with the Penguins in a non-contact capacity. That and other updates in this Penguins practice report.

It wasn’t scientific, but a survey of Penguins players turned up some interesting answers — with some interesting overlap — when they were asked to identify the top reason for the team’s improved defensive play.

The Penguins will come out of the Christmas break with back-to-back games against the New York Islanders. That means they will need to have a plan for stifilng long-time Penguins-killers Brock Nelson and Anders Lee.